I hate my Damsels

[eeyrg]

_hate_ isn't strong enough. Bitchy fish. Curse the LFS that convinced me to get them. Now I want to get rid of them. I'm convinced they ate my Sally crab. Woke up one morning to find the poor crab had all it's legs torn off (except one) and it was still alive. I highly doubt the Chromis or the Firefish would have done such a thing.
Pesky little buggers, they're difficult to catch.
Any suggestions for catching them?
Anyone for Damsel sushi? ;-) (see, that's funny)

 

[tacks]

With all that rock it's gonna be tough. You could try dividing the tank with plexi-glass and using two nets. One to net the fish and the other to guide the fish into the net. You can try catching them at night where they sleep. I've heard of people using a flashlight to startle them. You can put a container in there, leave it there so the fish get used to it, and when they are in there, remove the container. Good Luck!!!

 

[lerch]

The only way I could ever get mine out was to take out most of my rock and pin them in a corner. It sucked trying to do this but it worked.

 

[flydan]

Hey!
It's not the fishes fault! ANYBODY who has done ANY research knows how a Damsel fish behaves. It's just their natural state. I think a tank set up with just Damsel fish is very colorful and full of activity. I don't have them myself just because they are aggressive fish. Would you put a shark in your tank and then complain that it's eating your other fish? I doubt it.
Do your research or pay the price. That's the way it is in this hobby. Unfortunately the fish usually gets punished too.
Dan'l

 

[eeyrg]

Originally posted by FlyDan:
<strong>Hey!
It's not the fishes fault! ANYBODY who has done ANY research knows how a Damsel fish behaves. It's just their natural state. I think a tank set up with just Damsel fish is very colorful and full of activity. I don't have them myself just because they are aggressive fish. Would you put a shark in your tank and then complain that it's eating your other fish? I doubt it.
Do your research or pay the price. That's the way it is in this hobby. Unfortunately the fish usually gets punished too.
Dan'l</strong><hr></blockquote>
Wow, thanks for the HELPFUL information. Way to be helpful, thanks! I *HAD* researched this, FYI. I brought this up to my LFS, who told me they'd be fine if living with other community fish. So, it is possible for new people to get bad information. So perhaps you should be a bit nicer about it, eh?

 

[predator]

See if a fish trap would do the trick. I'v heard they are pretty effective.
And I know exactly what you mean about getting bad info from the start. I was given some myself. But, maybe everybody should be a little nicer. This is a good place to learn alot. Lets please try and keep it that way.
I am sorry to hear about your crab. If a fish would have done that to one of my emeralds, I personally would probably catch the little guy and hit him with a hammer!!! <img src="graemlins//evilwhorn.gif" border="0" alt="[Evil Horn]" /> <a href="http://hometown.aol.com/flmeangl44/index.html" target="_blank"> CLICK HERE TO SEE MY REEF </a>

 

[bammbamm74]

I used a clear plastic container then guided the fish into it. But that only worked once. From then on, the damsels caught on. I had to remove most of my rock and try netting the fish. THe one spot Damsel got so tired of running from the net I was able to catch it with my hand!!
If you don't want your damsels and live in the Los Angeles area, I'll take them. Email me at bammbamm74@yahoo.com

 

[eeyrg]

Originally posted by Predator:
<strong>See if a fish trap would do the trick. I'v heard they are pretty effective.
And I know exactly what you mean about getting bad info from the start. I was given some myself. But, maybe everybody should be a little nicer. This is a good place to learn alot. Lets please try and keep it that way.
I am sorry to hear about your crab. If a fish would have done that to one of my emeralds, I personally would probably catch the little guy and hit him with a hammer!!! <img src="graemlins//evilwhorn.gif" border="0" alt="[Evil Horn]" /> <a href="http://hometown.aol.com/flmeangl44/index.html" target="_blank"> CLICK HERE TO SEE MY REEF </a></strong><hr></blockquote>
Thanks for the kind words. I really do appreciate it. <img src="graemlins//angel.gif" border="0" alt="[angel]" /> It was quite upsetting to see my crab in bits. Even more upsetting because he was still alive and I didn't have the heart to kill him. Thankfully, he died about an hour after I found him.
I need to move the rock around in my tank this week-end and do a good water change/cleaning. Perhaps I'll use that as an excuse to trap the Evil Ones and return them to the LFS.

 

[predator]

Good luck catching the little devil. How long has your tank been set up? I love dwarf angels and would reccomend them to anyone. But it is important to have a tank thats pretty mature(6 months). They have pretty color and lots of personality. It might be a alternative to that damsel if you get rid of him. I have a coral beauty and a flame angel(would not reccomend more than 1 though). I love them. Another one I really like is the Eblei E-BLE-I. I don't know how to spell But, but they are really neat.

 

[k.lee]

pUT A SQUIRELL FISH/ soldier fish in their. mwuhahah. Don't if your tank is less than 45 gallons--

 

[nm reef]

I removed mine several months ago( domino & blue devil) when I did some re-arranging. Had all the LR out and got the lil buggers!!!! They have since been confined to my 29 gal Damsel detention center!!! The domino is rather large now and the lil blue devil still holds his own.....plus they have their 2 new friends to keep them in line....a small huma huma trigger and a dwarf lion............they are excellant fish in the right conditions....but NOT in my reef!!!!! Now they are sentenced to live without parole and will be constantly guarded by the trigger & lion!!!!!Actually I really like this lil 29 with these guys....a very cool semi-aggressive fish only. Soon I'll up-grade to a larger system for them and return my 29 to its status as Q tank....but for now I really like this combination of fish.

 

[rockster]

Just a suggestion. Don't feed the fishies for a couple of days then place a frozen fish food inside a fish net lower it and hold it steady and it will (hopefully) go inside. Either scoop it up quickly or trap it against the glass. It worked for me several times and never had to tear my tank apart. Good luck.

 

[don berry]

I got mine out by putting some frozen brine in my net. They will be scared to go into it for a couple of days, but keep at it. Eventually they will go in to get the food, and then you just net them. This method really does work with out having to tear your tank up.

 

[therock0861]

Do they come to the top when you feed them? I had the same problem I tried for 25 minutes to catch them with a net and then I gave up and fed them when I dropped the food in there they came to the top to eat and I scooped them up with the net ....easy. By the way I don't think they killed your crab I have never heard of a Damsel doing that not that it isn't a possibility.

 

[eeyrg]

Originally posted by Predator:
<strong>Good luck catching the little devil. How long has your tank been set up? I love dwarf angels and would reccomend them to anyone. But it is important to have a tank thats pretty mature(6 months). They have pretty color and lots of personality. It might be a alternative to that damsel if you get rid of him. I have a coral beauty and a flame angel(would not reccomend more than 1 though). I love them. Another one I really like is the Eblei E-BLE-I. I don't know how to spell But, but they are really neat.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Had to enlist the boyfriend. I gave up after 1/2 hour. We ended up taking apart the tank, making it dark, and shining a bright flashlight on the fish to "blind" them. Scooped 'em out after that.
My tank has been up for a little over 2 months. Funny you should mention the coral beauty and the flame angel. I wanted to get both, but decided to just get the flame angel. But not yet, in a few more weeks.
I have to figure out why my water is a bit cloudy first. I thought it was because I added sugar-sand last week, but I've since done 2 water changes (10 gallons each) and it still seems cloudy. All the important levels (Nitrate/Nitrite/Ammonia/Alk) are either 0 or trace, exept for Alk which is normal. Tried adding activated charcoal to the sump, but either I didn't add enough or that's not the issue.
So I need to go back to the drawing board and see what else I can come up with. Suggestions are welcome and thanks for the help!